My Emerging Technology...

What is this emerging technology? The emerging technology is social networking websites overall. The interaction they prompt and require by its users makes it live and gain momentum and popularity. The most famous sites I have heard in my travels are: Myspace.com , Facebook.com , Twitter.com , and LinkedIn.com .

What's unique about this technology? What's unique about social networking websites are what the users say and how often they say it. For example, the mere use of new vocabulary by the site Twitter.com is unique in itself. Posting comments about someone or something at sometime is called tweeting. In addition to new vocabulary this technology has the capability to introduce you to other people as well as their culture.

Did it replace or enhance something else used for teaching and learning? It somewhat replaced journaling. While I had to journal when I was in high school, and I think it is great for reflection, critical thinking, and summary of what was learned, it lags behind what social networking brings to the table concerning interaction.

How does it work for today's learners - the Milennials, digital natives? Because today's learners are use to real time information and exploring on the internet, learning on social networking websites works well for these digital natives. It seems as if there is something about the peer information and sharing that goes on that is unique. Digital natives establish rapport via the given social networking site and give and take information seemlessly. A great example is when Philadelphia had its latest flash mob incident. The students in my computer technology class had an impromptu discussion on how silly the young students were acting. They used social sites such as YouTube , Facebook, and MySpace as reference points and evidence of how they wouldn't act in such a manner.

Part II